ACADEMIC CAREER AWARD (K07) Release Date: February 24, 2000 PA NUMBER: PA-00-070 - (Reissued as PA-08-152) National Institute on Aging National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism National Cancer Institute National Institute of Mental Health National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine SPECIAL NOTE The NIH institutes and centers implement this award in different ways to accommodate the career needs of researchers working in fields related to their specific missions. Not all of the NIH awarding components support the KO7 or both components of this award. Potential applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the appropriate NIH program staff listed under “INQUIRIES” at the end of this announcement prior to preparing an application. PURPOSE The Academic Career Award (K07) is used by the NIH Institutes and Centers to support individuals interested in introducing or improving curricula in a particular scientific field as a means of enhancing the educational or research capacity at the grantee institution. This Academic Career Award (K07) supports two types of activities: Development: The K07 provides up to five years of support for more junior candidates who are interested in developing academic and research expertise in a particular field, as a way to increase the overall pool of individuals capable of research or teaching in the identified area. During the period of the award, the candidate will become a successful academician in the chosen area. Teaching, curriculum building, research, and leadership skills are to be learned during the tenure of the award. For junior candidates, a mentor is required. Leadership: The K07 can also provide from two to five years of support for more senior individuals with acknowledged scientific expertise and leadership skills who are interested in improving the curricula and enhancing the research capacity within an academic institution. It is expected that support under this award will increase the visibility and the overall research support or academic capacity for the given field of research within the academic medical/health and research community. HEALTHY PEOPLE 2000 The Public Health Service (PHS) is committed to achieving the health promotion and disease prevention objectives of "Healthy People 2000," a PHS led national activity for setting priority areas. This Program Announcement (PA), Title of PA, is related to one or more of the priority areas. Potential applicants may obtain a copy of "Healthy People 2000" at http://odphp.osophs.dhhs.gov/pubs/hp2000. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS Candidates for this award must have a clinical or research doctoral degree. Candidates for the Development Award must demonstrate the potential to develop into an excellent academician, in the fields of interest to the NIH awarding institute or center. Candidates must be able to identify a mentor who is an expert in the research field of interest and has a record of providing the type of supervision required by this award. Candidates must also be able to devote at least 75 percent of full-time professional effort to the research and developmental programs required for academic development. Candidates for the Leadership Award must have sufficient clinical training, research, or teaching experience in the academic area of interest to the NIH to implement a program of curriculum development within the applicant institution, must have an academic appointment at a level sufficient to enable her/him to exert an influence on the coordination of research, teaching, and clinical practice in an emerging field, and must be in a position to devote at least 25 but not more than 50 percent effort to the program, a portion of which may include research. Applications may be submitted, on behalf of candidates, by domestic, non- Federal organizations, public or private, such as medical, dental, or nursing schools or other institutions of higher education. Minorities, women, and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply. At the time of award, candidates must be citizens or noncitizen nationals of the United States, or must have been lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence (i.e., in possession of a currently valid Alien Registration Receipt Card I- 551, or other legal verification of such status). Noncitizen nationals are generally persons born in outlying possessions of the United States (e.g., American Samoa and Swain’s Island). Individuals on temporary or student visas are not eligible. MECHANISM OF SUPPORT Awards in response to this program announcement will use the K07 mechanism. Planning, direction, and execution of the program will be the responsibility of the candidate on behalf of the applicant institution. However, the institution must demonstrate a commitment to the candidate and the candidate’s goals for career development. The project period is up to five years for the development award and two to five years for the leadership award. Awards are renewable at the discretion of the NIH awarding unit. Prospective candidates are advised to discuss this issue with the appropriate contact listed under “INQUIRIES”. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES A. Environment: For the leadership award, the sponsoring institution must document a strong academic research environment conducive to the development and implementation of a new or enhanced academic research program in the area of interest to the NIH awarding institute or center. The institution must provide assurance that the candidate is an integral part of its research and academic programs. B. Program: The award provides up to five consecutive 12-month awards for the duration of the grant. For the development award, applicants are expected to commit at least 75 percent of full- time professional effort to the career development program. The remainder may be devoted to other research-related and/or teaching pursuits consonant with the objectives of the award. For the leadership award, applicants are expected to commit at least 25 percent effort. C. Mentor: For the development award, the recipient must receive appropriate mentoring throughout the award. Where feasible, women and minority mentors should be involved as role models. D. Allowable Costs 1. Salary for the Development Award: The NIH will provide salary and fringe benefits for the Development Award recipient. The total salary requested must be based on a full-time, 12-month staff appointment. It must be consistent both with the established salary structure at the institution and with salaries actually provided by the institution from its own funds to other staff members of equivalent qualifications, rank, and responsibilities in the department concerned. If full-time, 12-month salaries are not currently paid to comparable staff members, the salary proposed must be appropriately related to the existing salary structure. Salary limits on career awards are not uniform throughout the NIH and are determined independently by each component of the NIH. In exceptional circumstances, individual NIH awarding components may be able to make exceptions to their stated maximum levels provided the total salary does not exceed the current legislated maximum ($141,300 in Fiscal 2000). Therefore, prospective candidates for the Development Award should contact the NIH component to which the application is targeted to ascertain the maximum contribution to the candidate’s salary. The institution may supplement the NIH salary contribution up to a level that is consistent with the institution’s salary scale, however, supplementation may not be from Federal funds unless specifically authorized by the Federal program from which such funds are derived. Because the salary amount provided by this award is based on the full-time institutional salary, funds from other NIH awards may not be used for salary supplementation. Institutional supplementation of salary must not require extra duties or responsibilities that would interfere with the purpose of the Development Award. Under expanded authorities, however, institutions may rebudget funds within the total costs awarded to cover salaries consistent with the institution’s salary scale, provided they do not exceed the current legislated maximum salary. 2. Salary for the Leadership Award: The NIH will provide salary and fringe benefits for the Leadership Award recipient for levels of effort between 25 and 50 percent. The actual salary provided by the award is based on the candidate’s full-time, 12-month institutional salary and the level of effort requested up to the maximum legislated salary rate in effect at the time of award. For example, in Fiscal Year 2000, the maximum allowable annual salary is $141,300 for a full-time position. Therefore, in FY 2000, the maximum annual base salary that will be provided for a Leadership Award recipient at 50 percent effort is $70,650. In all cases, the salary requested must be consistent both with the established salary structure at the institution and with salaries actually provided by the institution from its own funds to other staff members of equivalent qualifications, rank, and responsibilities in the department concerned. If full-time, 12-month salaries are not currently paid to comparable staff members, the salary proposed must be appropriately related to the existing salary structure. The award will also provide fringe benefits on the calculated base salary at the established institutional rate. The salary limits are not uniform throughout the NIH and are determined independently by each component of the NIH. Therefore, prospective candidates for the Leadership Award should contact the NIH component to which the application is targeted to ascertain the maximum contribution to the candidate"s salary. The institution may supplement the NIH salary contribution up to a level that is consistent with the institution"s salary scale. However, institutional supplementation of salary must not require extra duties or responsibilities that would interfere with the purpose of the Leadership Award. In addition, recipients of this award may derive additional compensation for effort associated with other Federal sources or awards, including NIH research grants, provided the total salary derived from all Federal sources does not exceed the maximum legislated salary rate, and the total percent effort does not exceed 100 percent. 2. Research Support: Research expenses and career development costs may be provided at the discretion of the NIH institute or center. Applicants should contact the relevant NIH institute or center program staff for additional information. 3. Ancillary Personnel Support: Salary for mentors or for secretarial and/or administrative assistants, etc., is not allowed. 4. Facilities and Administrative Costs: These costs will be reimbursed at 8 percent of modified total direct costs. E. Evaluation: In carrying out its stewardship of human resource-related programs, the NIH may begin requesting information essential to an assessment of the effectiveness of this program. Accordingly, recipients are hereby notified, that they may be contacted after the completion of this award for periodic updates on various aspects of their employment history, publications, support from research grants or contracts, honors and awards, professional activities, and other information helpful in evaluating the impact of the program. F. Other Income: Fees resulting from clinical practice, professional consultation, or other comparable activities required by the research and research-related activities of this career award may not be retained by the career award recipient. Such fees must be assigned to the grantee institution for disposition by any of the following methods: The funds may be expended by the grantee institution in accordance with the NIH policy on supplementation of career award salaries and to provide fringe benefits in proportion to such supplementation. Such salary supplementation and fringe benefit payments must be within the established policies of the grantee institution. The funds may be used for health-related research purposes. The funds may be paid to miscellaneous receipts of the U.S. Treasury. Checks should be made payable to the Department of Health and Human Services, NIH and forwarded to the Director, Division of Financial Management, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland 20892. Checks must identify the relevant award account and reason for the payment. Awardees may retain royalties and fees for activities such as scholarly writing, service on advisory groups, or honoraria from other institutions for lectures or seminars, provided these activities remain incidental and provided that the retention of such payments is consistent with the policies and practices of the grantee institution. Usually, funds budgeted in an NIH-supported research or research training grant for the salaries or fringe benefits of individuals, but freed as a result of a career award, may not be rebudgeted. The awarding component may give consideration to written requests for the use of released funds only under unusual circumstances. Any proposed retention of funds released as a result of a career award must receive prior written approval of the NIH awarding component. G. Special Leave: Leave to another institution, including a foreign laboratory, may be permitted if directly related to the purpose of the award. Only local, institutional approval is required if such leave does not exceed 3 months. For longer periods, prior written approval of the NIH funding component is required. To obtain prior approval, the award recipient must submit a letter to the NIH describing the reason for the period of leave. This letter must be countersigned by his or her department head and the appropriate institutional official. A copy of a letter or other evidence from the institution where the leave is to be taken must be submitted to assure that satisfactory arrangements have been made. Support from the career award will continue during such leave. Leave without award support may not exceed 12 months. Such leave requires the prior written approval of the NIH funding component and will be granted only in unusual situations. Support from other sources is permissible during the period of leave. Such leave does not reduce the total number of months of program support for which an individual is eligible. Parental leave will be granted consistent with the policies of the NIH and the grantee institution. Under unusual and pressing personal circumstances, a recipient of the Development Award may submit a written request to the awarding component requesting a reduction in professional effort below 75 percent. Such requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis during the award period. It will not, however, be permissible to provide less than 50 percent effort under this award. The nature of the circumstances requiring reduced effort might include medical conditions, disability, or pressing personal or family situations such as child or elder care. Permission to reduce the level of effort will not be approved to accommodate other sources of funding, job opportunities, clinical practice, clinical training, or to adapt to any assigned duties associated with the employee’s role at the grantee institution. In each situation, the grantee institution must submit documentation supporting the need for reduced effort and an assurance of a continuing commitment to the scientific development of the awardee. Further, the awardee must submit assurance of his or her intention to return to full-time professional effort (at least 75 percent) as soon as possible. During the period of reduced effort, the salary and other costs supported by the award will be reduced accordingly. H. Termination or Change of Institution: When a grantee institution plans to terminate an award, the NIH funding component must be notified in writing at the earliest possible time so that appropriate instructions can be given for termination. The Director of the NIH may discontinue an award upon determination that the purpose or terms of the award are not being fulfilled. In the event an award is terminated, the Director of the NIH shall notify the grantee institution and career award recipient in writing of this determination, the reasons therefor, the effective date, and the right to appeal the decision. Some institutes do not allow a change of institution but do allow a change of principal investigator if there are strong programmatic needs to justify continuation of the academic initiatives at the grantee institution. If the funding component does allow a change of institution, awardees planning a change of institution must submit to the funding NIH component in advance of the change, a written request for transfer, countersigned by the appropriate institutional business official, describing the reasons for the change. The awardee must establish in this request that the specific aims of the research program to be conducted at the new institution are within the scope of the original peer reviewed research program. Staff within the NIH funding component will review this request and may require a review by an initial review group and/or the appropriate National Advisory Council or Board. Upon approval of this request, a new career award application must be submitted by the new institution, and the original grantee institution must relinquish the grant far enough in advance of the requested effective date to permit review. The period of support requested in the new application must be no more than the time remaining within the existing award period. A final progress report, invention statement, and Financial Status Report are required upon either termination of an award or relinquishment of an award in a change of institution situation. INCLUSION OF WOMEN AND MINORITIES IN RESEARCH INVOLVING HUMAN SUBJECTS It is the policy of the NIH that women and members of minority groups and their subpopulations must be included in all NIH supported biomedical and behavioral research projects involving human subjects, unless a clear and compelling rationale and justification is provided that inclusion is inappropriate with respect to the health of the subjects or the purpose of the research. This policy results from the NIH Revitalization Act of 1993 (Section 492B of Public Law 103-43). All investigators proposing research involving human subjects should read the "NIH Guidelines For Inclusion of Women and Minorities as Subjects in Clinical Research," which have been published in the Federal Register of March 28, 1994 (FR 59 14508-14513) and in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts, Vol. 23, No. 11, March 18, 1994 available on the web at the following URL address: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/not94-100.html INCLUSION OF CHILDREN AS PARTICIPANTS IN RESEARCH INVOLVING HUMAN SUBJECTS It is the policy of NIH that children (i.e., individuals under the age of 21) must be included in all human subjects research, conducted or supported by the NIH, unless there are scientific and ethical reasons not to include them. This policy applies to all initial (Type 1) applications submitted for receipt dates after October 1, 1998. All investigators proposing research involving human subjects should read the "NIH Policy and Guidelines on the Inclusion of Children as Participants in Research Involving Human Subjects" that was published in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts, March 6, 1998, and is available at the following URL address: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/not98-024.html Investigators also may obtain copies of these policies from the program staff listed under INQUIRIES. Program staff may also provide additional relevant information concerning the policy. APPLICATION PROCEDURES This is a generic NIH program announcement for the Academic Career Award (K07). Therefore, all potential candidates are strongly encouraged to contact the staff person in the relevant institute or center listed under INQUIRIES. Such contact should occur early in the planning phase of application preparation and should help ensure that applications are responsive to the goals and policies of the individual institute or center. Applications are to be submitted on the grant application form PHS 398 (revision 4/98) and should use the instructions in Section IV of the application kit. The application will be accepted on or before the receipt dates indicated in the application kit. Forms are available at most institutional offices of sponsored research and from the Division of Extramural Outreach and Information Resources, National Institutes of Health, 6701 Rockledge Drive, MSC 7910, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-7910, Phone (301) 435-0714, FAX: (301) 480-0525, Email: grantsinfo@nih.gov. Forms are also available on the NIH Website at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/forms.htm - training. To identify the application as a response to this program announcement, check “YES” on item 2 of page 1 of the application and enter PA-00-XXX Academic Career Award. Submit a signed, typewritten original of the application with Checklist, and five signed photocopies, in one package to: CENTER FOR SCIENTIFIC REVIEW NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH 6701 ROCKLEDGE DRIVE, ROOM 1040-MSC 7710 BETHESDA, MARYLAND 20892-7710 Or for express/courier service use BETHESDA, MARYLAND 20817-7710 The application must include the following information: (Note that different NIH institutes and centers may ask for additional information) Candidate o A description of the candidate’s commitment to an academic research career in the area of interest to the NIH. o Evidence that the candidate has the capacity to provide leadership as a teacher or researcher. o A description of the candidate’s immediate and long-term career objectives and how those objectives are consistent with the needs for expansion or enhancement of the academic or research capacity in a field of research of interest to the NIH funding component. o Letters of recommendation. For the Development Academic Award, three sealed letters of recommendation addressing the applicant’s potential for an academic and research career must be included as part of the application. The mentor’s statement is not considered to be a letter of recommendation. Career Development Plan o A description of the career development plan incorporating consideration of the candidate"s goals and prior experience. Include details of the plan to obtain the necessary research and pedagogical experience to facilitate further development as an academician. The career development plan must be tailored to the career goals of the candidate and the intent of the award. Training in the Responsible Conduct of Research o Candidates must describe plans to receive (or provide in the case of the leadership award) instruction in the responsible conduct of research. These plans must detail the proposed subject matter, format, frequency, and duration of instruction. No award will be made if an application lacks this component. Research Plan o A description of the research plan according to the specific instructions in the Research Career Award section of the 398 form on p. IV-6. The applicant should describe the research plan necessary to initiate academic and research development in the area of interest to the NIH funding component. Candidates for the development award should coordinate the development of the research plan with their prospective mentor. A sound research plan that is consistent with the candidate’s level of research experience must be provided. Mentor"s Statement o Candidates for the development Academic Award must include a statement from the mentor(s) describing his/her research qualifications and previous experience as a research supervisor. The application must also include information describing the nature and extent of supervision that will occur during the proposed award period. Environment and Institutional Commitment o The sponsoring institution must document a commitment to the development of a strong, well-established research and academic program related to the proposed field of interest. This will include a high-quality research environment with staff capable of productive collaboration with the candidate. The sponsoring institution also must provide a statement to document the level of commitment to the candidate’s development into a productive, independent investigator during the period of the award. This must include an indication of support for the candidate’s proposed level of effort related to this award, commitment to release time, as well as the availability of support and supervision during the award period. Budget o Budget requests must be provided according to the instructions in form PHS 398. The request for Research Support, including tuition and fees, books, travel, etc., must be justified and specified by category. REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS Applications will be reviewed for completeness by the Center for Scientific Review and responsiveness to the PA by the appropriate institute or center staff. Incomplete or non-responsive applications will be returned to the applicant without further consideration. Applications that are complete and responsive to the program announcement will be evaluated for scientific and technical merit by an appropriate peer review group convened in accordance with the standard NIH peer review procedures. As part of the initial merit review, all applications will receive a written critique. Applications may undergo a streamlined review process in which only those applications deemed to have the highest scientific merit, generally the top half of applications under review, will be discussed, assigned a priority score, and receive a second level review by the appropriate national advisory council or board. The following review criteria will be applied: (Note that different NIH Institutes and Centers may employ different or additional review criteria) Candidate o Evidence of excellence in academic, research, and (where appropriate) clinical activities, o Potential to become an outstanding investigator, teacher, resource person, and leader in research, educational and (where appropriate) clinical programs related to the mission of the NIH award component, o Potential to become or to continue as an independent researcher, o Quality and breadth of prior scientific training and experience, and o Degree and extent of previous research support and publications considering the academic level of candidate. Career Development Plan o Quality and feasibility of the candidate"s career development plan, including plans after termination of the award. o Quality of the proposed plan to enhance pedagogical and leadership skills. o Quality of the plan to receive training or provide instruction in the responsible conduct of research. Research Plan o Quality and feasibility of the research and teaching plan, o Relationship of the research plan to the career development goals and the candidate"s previous experience, and o Adequacy of plans to include both genders, children, and minorities and their subgroups as appropriate for the scientific goals of the research. Plans for the recruitment and retention of subjects will also be evaluated. Mentor o For the development academic award, the mentor"s prior experience and record in fostering academic growth and productivity, o History of research productivity and peer-reviewed research support, and o Adequacy of active and pending support for the proposed research project. Environment o Commitment of the institution to strengthening research and education activities in the area of interest to the NIH institute or center, o Commitment of the institution to the proposed level of effort related to this award, o Merit of the institution plan to strengthen research and training activities beyond the current status of activities and capacities, o Scope and nature of collaboration among participating schools and departments, and o Adequacy of the research facilities and training opportunities for this award. Budget o Justification of budget requests in relation to career development goals and research aims and plans. AWARD CRITERIA The institute or center will notify the applicant of the board or council action shortly after its meeting. Funding decisions will be made based on the recommendations of the initial review group and council/board, the need for research personnel in specific program areas, and the availability of funds. The NIH policy on submission of revised (amended) applications limits the number of such applications to two. INQUIRIES Written and telephone inquiries concerning this PA are encouraged especially during the planning phase of the application. Below is a listing of each institute"s or center"s program or grants management contacts. National Institute on Aging (NIA) Additional information about the career awards program at NIA is available from: http://www.nih.gov/nia/ Robin A. Barr, Ph.D. Office of Extramural Affairs 7201 Wisconsin Avenue, Room 2C218, MSC 9205 Bethesda, Maryland 20892-9205 Telephone: (301) 496-9322 FAX: (301) 402-9245 Email: BarrR@mail.nih.gov National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) The NIAAA does not accept applications for the leadership component of the award. Ernestine Vanderveen, Ph.D. Division of Basic Research 6000 Executive Boulevard, Suite 402 MSC 7003 Bethesda, Maryland 20892-7003 Telephone: (301) 443-1273 FAX: (301) 594-0673 Email: tv9f@nih.gov Harold Perl , Ph.D. Division of Clinical and Prevention Research 6000 Executive Boulevard, Suite 505 MSC 7003 Bethesda, Maryland 20892-7003 Telephone: (301) 443- 0788 FAX: (301) 443-8744 Email: hp14o@nih.gov Mary C. Dufour, Ph.D. Division of Biometry and Epidemiology 6000 Executive Boulevard, Suite 514 MSC 7003 Bethesda, Maryland 20892-7003 Telephone: (301) 443-4897 FAX: (301) 443-8614 Email: md68i@nih.gov National Cancer Institute (NCI) The NCI uses the K07 to support the career development of investigators who have made a commitment to focus their research careers on cancer prevention, control, behavioral and the population sciences. For additional information contact: Dr. Shannon M. Lemrow Program Director Cancer Training Branch National Cancer Institute 6116 Executive Boulevard, Suite 7025, MSC 8346 Bethesda, MD 20892-8346 (for U.S. Postal Service express or regular mail) Rockville, MD 20852 (for express/courier delivery) Telephone: (301) 496-8580 FAX: (301) 402-4472 Email:lemrows@mail.nih.gov National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) (The NHLBI does not accept applications for the Academic Career Award on a regular basis. It does, however, issue Requests for Applications (RFAs) using this award as programmatic needs arise.) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) The NIMH supports the “leadership” aspect of this award through a specific program in neuroinformatics. For further information, please see the NIMH Research Training and Career Development Website at: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/grants/training.cfm Henry Khachaturian, Ph.D. Office of Science Policy and Program Planning 6001 Executive Boulevard Room 8208, MSC 9667 Bethesda, Maryland 20892 Telephone: (301) 443-4335 FAX: (301) 443-3225 Email: hk11b@nih.gov Michael Hirsch, Ph.D. Office on Neuroinformatics 6001 Executive Boulevard Room 6167, MSC 9613 Bethesda, Maryland 20892 Telephone: (301) 443-1815 FAX: (301) 443-1867 Email: mhirsch@mail.nih.gov National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) Neal West, Ph.D. Program Officer Building 31, Room 5B-58 Bethesda, Maryland 20892 Telephone: (301) 402-5867 FAX: (301) 402-4741 Email: nw20a@nih.gov AUTHORITY AND REGULATIONS The Academic Career Awards are made under the authority of Title III, Section 301 of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act as amended (Public Law 78-410, as amended 42 USC 241). The Code of Federal Regulations, Title 42 Part 52, and Title 45 part 74, are applicable to this program. This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance No. 93.121. This program is not subject to the intergovernmental review requirements of Executive Order 12372 or Health Systems Agency review. The PHS strongly encourages all grant and contract recipients to provide a smoke-free workplace and promote the non-use of all tobacco products. In addition, Public Law 103-227, the Pro-Children Act of 1994, prohibits smoking in certain facilities (or in some cases, any portion of a facility) in which regular or routing education, library, day care, health care or early childhood development services are provided to children. This is consistent with the PHS mission to protect and advance the physical and mental health of the American people.
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